Pacquiao ekes out another controversial decision over Marquez

Pacquiao defeated Marquez by a majority decision on Saturday in Las Vegas but the victory was no more convincing than their first two meetings, which ended in a draw in 2004 and split-decision victory for Pacquiao in 2008.

Pacquiao was as much as a 9-1 favorite against Marquez, who is 38 and had to move up in weight for the fight.

However, once again, they fought on even terms. Pacquiao (54-3-2, 38 knockouts) threw more punches, according to Compu Box, but had difficulty landing clean blows throughout the fight. Marquez also had trouble landing consistently but seemed to connect with more eye-catching punches than Pacquiao.

Neither fighter went down or was hurt, although Pacquiao suffered a cut above his right eye as a result of a collision of heads in the 10th round.

The announcement of the decision provided the most drama of the night, as it could’ve gone either way. In the end, one judge scored it 114-114 while the other two had it 115-113 and 116-112 for Pacquiao.

Afterward, some of the fans at the MGM Grand booed as Pacquiao was interviewed in the ring.

“I have to accept the fact that my opponent is not easy; he’s a good fighter,” he said. “I did my best. And I clearly won the fight.”

Marquez (53-6-1, 39 KOs) was devastated after losing the third of three fights that could’ve gone his way.

“It’s difficult to fight your rival and fight the judges also,” he said through an interpreter.

Said Nacho Beristain, his trainer: “It was a robbery, a robbery of the utmost.”